Tacking-maghine



(No Model.) '5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. WO-ODWARD.

TAOKING MACHINE. No. 251,755. V Patented Jan. 3,1882.

WITNEESEE 'NVENTEIR (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. WOODWARD; TAGKING MACHINE.

No. 251,755. Patented Jan. 3,1882.

Fig.2-

WITNCEEEE. MVENTU Mn M 7}- xi N. PETERS. PhowLnhc n lm-r. Washi c.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

E. WOODWARD.

TAGKING MACHINE.

NO. 251,765. Patented Jan. 3,1882.

II I 1 Fig.5;

WITNEE E NJENTIJ (No Model.) 5 sheets-sneer, 5,

E. WOODWARD TAGKING MACHINE. No. 251,755. Patented Jan. 3,1882.

WITNESSES INVENTB Wh M 9w- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEQ' ERASTUS 'WOODWARD, OF SOMERVILLE, ASSIGNOB TO GEORGE W.

COPELAND, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

TACKiNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,755, dated January 3, 1882. i Application filed September 27, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERASTUS WOODWARD, of Somerville, in the countyof Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, a citizen of the United States, have made a certain new and useful Improvement in Tacking-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawin gs, forming a part of this specification, in ex plaining its nature, in Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tacking-ma chine containing my invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the opposite side of the machine from that shown in Fig. I. Fig. 3 is a section on the line a an of Fig. l and a front eleva tion of the remainder of the machine. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the driver, knife, and centering-block hereinafter described. Fig. .5 is a horizontal section on the line 00 m of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 isa horizontal section on the line 2 zof Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a view showing the relation of the centering -block hereinafter described to the tack-drivin g mechanism.

This invention relates to a power-machine for feeding the Copeland Tack-Strip, so called, or that tack-strip in which the heads of the tacks are supported and connected by a strip of flexible material, and for driving tacks therefrom, and also to means forstartingand stopping the machine, which are an improvement upon those described in Patent N 0. 246,437, granted me, dated August '30, 1881. It embraces a novel feeding mechanism and method of operating it, the organization, in" a powermachine, of feeding mechanism and tack-driving mechanism adapted to feed said Copeland tack-strip and to drive tacks therefrom, a movable nozzle,and frictional devices automaticall y operated to stop the revolution of the main shaft suddenly at stated intervals.

The mechanism for starting and stopping the machine is that described in the said Patent No. 246,437, and, with two exceptions, need not further be described here. The first exception is the substitution of themovable nozzle for the foot described in said patent. This nozzle is lettered A in the drawings, and is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. It is fastened to the sliding plate a, which is the same as the sliding plate of said patent. The nozzle has at its upper end an inverted hell or cone shaped recess, a, which is adapted, when the nozzle is pressed upwardly, to fit upon the hell or cone shaped projection a through which the driveway passes, This formation enables the nozzle to be centered as itis lifted and held rigidly in place during the driving of the tack. The second exception is that which relates to the application of frictional appliances to the main shaft to quickly stop its revolution after the driving of a tack. This mechanism is shown in Figs. 1 and 5; and it consists in a disk, B, fixed or fastened to the main shaft, and a movable disk, B, which is fastened to the clutch lever b, or to the driving-pulley b, which corresponds to the clutch-lever and driving-pulley in said patent, by means of the connectingarms b A washer, b, may be arranged between the two disks to increase the friction, if desired. 'It is obvious from this construction that upon the outward movement of one member of the clutch from the other member the two disks are brought in contact and the desirable friction or braking action obtained, and that upon the moving in of the movable member of the clutch toengage with the other member the disks are separated 'sufficient to prevent friction between them; also, that this must result in stopping the revolution of the main shaft suddenly upon the movement of the movable member of the. clutch away from the fixed member, and that upon its movement to the fixed member the main shaft may be revolved without hinderance.

I have herein described as the method of operating the machine that specified in Patent No. 246,437; but I do not desire to be understood as confining myself to that specific method of starting the machine, as I may use any other means for causing the movable member of the clutch to engage andtdisengage with the fixed irember without departing from the spirit of this invention.

0 is the frame of the machine. 0 isits main shaft. 0 is the driver-bar, which has hearings in the projections c. C is a crank connecting the main shaft with the driver-bar. c is the driver-rod, which plays up and down in the loo drawings.

The feed mechanism varies from that heretofore described in the patents for driving the Copeland tack-strip, in that I add a centering device, whereby the tack is always located in v a given position in the throat of the machine,

and a pawl having three teeth actuated in a peculiar way. The centering device is formed by providing the hinged block E, which is the equivalent of the block or plate described and claimed in Letters Patent N o. 197 ,608, dated November 27, 1877, with a vertical V-shaped recess, 6, between the two projections e 0 each projection having an inclined face in the direction of the feed.

The operation of this centering device in centering a tackis as follows: The feed-pawl having pushed the tack-stri p forward in the opertion of feeding, the first tack in the strip is fed into the throat of the machine, the block E being pressed out by the shanks of the tacks as the strip is fed forward. When the feeding stops the block returns to its original position,

, and the second tack will be somewhere between the points 6 t in the recess 0. As the block returns to its original position it either draws the strip back a little or pushes it forward some, according to the position that the shank of the tack bears in relation to the recess, and the face of the projection which may contact with the shank of the tack, acting, on account of its shape, to move the tack either forward or back, as the case may be, to the center of the recess. Of course, it the shank of the tack happens to be at the center, it will not be moved upon the inward movement of the block. 1

The feed-pawl F has three teeth,f, and it is given these movements by mechanismhereinafter described in relation to the feedway f in feeding the tack-strip and in returning to its original position: first, an inward movement to place the teeth in line with the tacks in the strip; second, a forward feeding movement, wherein one of the teeth at least engages with the shank of the tack ofihc strip and feeds it forward; third, an outward movement at the completion of the forward feeding movement;

fourth, a backward movement to its original position; or, in other words, it is a positivelyactuated four-motioned feed-pawl. It is provided with three teeth, in order that the feeding of the strip may be made absolutely certain, as it is as sure as anything can be that one of the teeth at least will find the shank of anism actuated by the cam D, as follows: the

bell-crank lever f pivoted at f, bearin g at the end of the arm f a cam-pin, d, and connected at the end of its other arm,f by aconnection which will permit of suitable adjustment with the lever f 6 at the upper end of the rock-shaft f This shaft has a suitable bearing in the frame of the machine, and carries at its lower end the lever f through which a short shaft or pivot, f extends. This shaft or pivot supports the leverf and also the lever or arm f, and has the exteiisionf ,beari11g the nut f between which and the upper surface of the leverf is the coiled springf This con-' struction clamps the levers or arms f 10 f to the leverf with sufficient friction to prevent them from turning on the lever f except one of the arms comes in contact with a stationary stop. The washers f f may be interposed between the two arms and the leverf", to assist in the clamping action of the said devices. The lower arm,f ,'supports the pawl. The operation of this mechanism is as follows:

Supposing the position of the pawl to be as represented in Fig. 6, the cam, revolving, causes the shaft f 7 to partially revolve, therebycausing it to move the leverf sufficiently to throw the inner end of the arm f and consequently the pawl, a distance sufficient to cause the pawl to enter the feedway. The end of the lever f then comes in contact with a stop, and of course prevents its further movement in that direction. As, however, the revolution of the shaftf still continues, the movement of the arm f must be converted into a forward movement, and as it can move on the center f against the, stress of the friction, it is caused to be advanced forward, and thereby feeds the tack-strip, moving slightly on the centerf while sodoing, and the lever f also moves upon the center of the shaftf Upon the reverse movement of the leverf7, which occurs at the end of the feed motion, the leverf first throws or moves outward the armf until the arm f comes in contact with the stop f", when the movement is again converted from that of an arc of a circle to that of a straight movement, and the feed-pawl is returned upon that line to its original position, preparatory to again feeding.

It will be observed that the lever f 8 and its operative mechanism cause the arms f f to be moved upon the arc of a circle until they come in contact with stops, when the movement is changed to that of a straight line parallel with the surface ofthe stops, and by this means I am enabled to get the four-motione movement above referred to.

Another feature of my invention consists in attaching to the driver-rod the knife G, which reciprocates therewith through the passage'g,

and which severs that portion of the tack-supporting strip from which the tacks have been driven from the remainder of the strip.

The tackstrip is fed by hand into the feedway to a position sufficiently advanced to enable the feed-pawlto engage with the shankof the first tack therein, and is then automati cally fed by the feed-pawl to the action of the driver, and the part of the strip from which the tion.

Having thus fully described my invention, I

claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. In amachine for drivingfastenings, a nozzle provided with a vertical movement,in combination with mechanism, substantially as described, connecting it with the actuating-pulley, whereby the movement of the nozzle both starts and stops the machine, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. Thecombination of a nozzle provided with a vertical movement and the means for centering it in relation to the driveway of the machine dnring its upward movement, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of anozzle provided with a vertical movement and the means, substantially as setforth, for maintaining it firmly in position while at its highest position and while the fastening is being driven, all substantially as described.

4. In a machine for driving fastenings, thecombination,substantiallyas shown,'of a movable member of the clutch mechanism, adapted to be operated as described, and a frictional device for stopping the machine, operated by said member, whereby, upon its disengagement from the other member, the friction mechanism is caused to act and the machine is stopped, and whereby, uprn its engagement with said member, the friction .is released, all substantially as specified.

5. In a machine fordriving fastenings, the combination of devices, substantially as specified, for engaging and disengaging the members of the clutch mechanism and frictional mechanism,substantially as specified, adapted in be automatically operated, as described, all

substantially as set forth.

6. In a machine for driving tacks from a tack-strip, as a means for-centering a tack in the throat of the machine, a yielding or movable block, E, having the centering-projections e 6 forminga recess, 0, and adapted to close or be closed into the feedway, all substantially as specified.

7. In a machine for driving tacks from a tack-strip, a feed-pawl arranged to feed the tack-strip having three or more teeth, as and for the purposes indicated.

8. In a machine for driving tacks from a tack-strip, the feed-pawl and means, substantially as set forth, for imparting to itclosing,

advancing, Withdrawing, and backward movements, all substantially as specified.

9. The combination of the cam D, the pawl F, and the intermediate mechanism described for providing the pawl with the movement ver, substantially as specified, and stops for changing, the direction of the movement of said arms, all substantially as described.

11. In a tacking-machine for driving tacks from a tack-supporting strip, the knife G,

means, substantially as specified, for imparting to it a reciprocating movement, the tackdriving and tack-feeding mechanism, all arranged in relation to each other as sctforth, whereby the knife is operatedto sever from which tacks have. been removed, all subs-tantially'as described. i

12. In an organized power-machine for driving tacks from a tack-supportingstrip, the comthe tack-supporting strip the portions from bination of the main shaft, a cam, and starting and stopping mechanism with said feed-pawl and start and stop mechanism, all substan-. tially as specified.

13. In an organized power tacking-machine for driving tacks from a tack-supportin g strip,

the combination of the following instrumen- 

